Aliko Dangote started with Non Bank loan of $3,000 from his uncle

Peak Pathway Magazine shares the success story of Africa’s billionaire, Alhaji Aliko Dangote  to encourage the youths that there are lot of opportunities in Nigeria. Aliko Dangote started with Non Bank loan of N500, 000 from his uncle ( Sanusi Abdulkadir Dantata  )in 1977 because, his uncle believed in his dream.

Here are some facts about the African Billionnaire and the lessons to be learnt from this successful entrepreneurship.

Aliko Dangote was born in 1957. Aliko Dangote  is the richest black African on the planet. Dangote is a business magnate who, in addition to being the richest African in the world, recently leapfrogged the Saudi-Ethiopian businessman Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi to become the richest black person on Earth.

Passion

 He started out from an early age being interested in business, buying sweets and selling them at a profit in school. This led on to Dangote enrolling in Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt to study business. Once Aliko Dangote graduated from university, he returned to Nigeria, aiming to start his own business aged just 21.

Dangote succeeded in starting his own business, the Dangote Group. He has expanded it massively over the 35 years of its operation. The Dangote Group is now a multinational industrial conglomerate, dealing in various commodities. It  has earned its owner billions of dollars.  Based in Lagos, Nigeria, the Dangote Group operates in a variety of other countries across the continent, including Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Togo, and Zambia.

Start small with a vision.

 However, as a fresh faced 21-year-old university graduate, he didn’t have the funds available to do what he wanted and as such went to his uncle for a loan. His uncle, Sanusi Abdulkadir Dantata, loaned him the princely sum of 500,000 Naira, the equivalent of just over $3,000 USD, to jump into the world of business. Dangote used these funds to launch the Dangote Group, and started out trading in mainly rice and vegetable oil. However, with the Nigerian construction industry booming and the infrastructure of the country rapidly improving, the Dangote Group soon moved in a new direction, buying trucks and cement to take advantage of the emerging market demands.

Today, the Dangote Group is a giant, multinational industrial conglomerate, one of the biggest in Africa in fact. The company employs over 21,000 people and operates in a very diverse range of sectors, including cement, sugar (of which Dangote holds 70% of the Nigerian market), pasta, beverages, and flour. Not to mention the fact that it generates over $2 billion USD annually. Not a bad little earner from the fresh faced graduate from Kano right?

Diversifying and maximising opportunities 

Not content with the large array of products that the Dangote Group produces, manufactures, imports, and exports, Aliko Dangote is still diversifying and exploring new markets. When you think about it, this is not that surprising considering Dangote openly admits that he is a major workaholic, sleeping little and never taking a vacation break.

Aliko Dangote’s latest exploits involve him taking the Dangote Group into the telecommunications industry. He has started testing the waters by plunging head first into them, and has already begun building fibre optic cables that will accommodate the entirety of Nigeria. This is a mere 14,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables to be precise, not to mention the task of installing them. This new enterprise has earned Dangote the honor of becoming the largest employer in Nigeria’s construction industry.

In addition to his telecommunications endeavours, Dangote also plans to take the Dangote Group into the petroleum sector. Again, not starting out small, Dangote has planned the construction of a $7 billion USD oil refinery in Nigeria, which would process up to 400,000 barrels of petrol every year. This is all part of his plan to make Nigeria self sufficient in areas where they still rely on importation.

Slow and steady wins the race
Today, the world knows Dangote as a billionaire but did you know that he took him 30 years to amass $1 billion? His journey is a very interesting one, showing all the features of luck, opportunity, hardwork and providence, but most of all patience.

Give back to the society

It is not very well documented, but Aliko Dangote is also quite the philanthropist as well as a remarkable entrepreneur. Despite his highly competitive business mind, his controversial political decisions, and his very uncharitable nature towards competitors, Dangote still finds the time and money to donate to the cause.

The main benefactor of Dangote’s money is a foundation. So far, The Dangote Foundation has distributed over $100 million USD to charitable causes in Nigeria and throughout Africa. The foundation supports a variety of causes, but places great emphasis on education, health, and forwarding the youth of Africa, especially Nigeria. To back up these statements, The Dangote Foundation has donated 1 billion Naira to Nigerian universities; half of this went on the development of a business school in Bayero University. The Dangote Foundation is also in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in an effort to eliminate Polio in Nigeria. Just to mention but a few.

Happy New Month.

Reference: Therichest.com